(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of biodegradable polymers for the controlled release of biologically active agents therefrom. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for preparing biodegradable polymers in the form of spherical particles of controlled size. The process is designed to allow the biodegradable polymer particles to contain incorporated biologically active agents and to allow controlled release of these agents while allowing targeted delivery via injection or inhalation.
(2) Background of the Prior Art
The use of proteins and peptides as therapeutic agents has been recognized and their position within the pharmaceutical armamentarium is growing due to their increasing availability. This availability is primarily due to recent advances in genetic engineering and biotechnology. Unfortunately, the use of proteinaceous drugs by conventional routes of administration is generally hampered by a variety of delivery problems. Nonparenteral routes of administration, i.e., oral and percutaneous, are inefficient primarily due to poor absorption of proteinaceous drugs into the bloodstream and degradation of such drugs in the gastrointestinal tract. Rapid proteolytic inactivation of the proteinaceous drug also occurs when the drug is administered parenterally thus decreasing its bioavailability. In addition, when administered by the parenteral route, the host's immune system is activated thereby potentially setting off a series of undesirable immune reactions.
In view of the foregoing, considerable effort has been devoted to developing alternative systems for parenteral delivery of peptides and proteins to obviate the problems associated with prior art administration techniques. For instance, implantable devices have been cast or molded from poly-(hydroxyethyl)methacrylate, polyvinyl alcohol, ethylene-vinylacetate copolymer (EVA) and silicone elastomer. Macromolecular drugs have been embedded in those devices. A typical method of preparation involves suspending a powder of a macromolecular drug such as a solid protein or peptide in a solution containing the polymer. The entire composition is then cast or molded into the desired size and shape either by evaporating the solvent or by vulcanization. A sustained release of macromolecules from these devices has been demonstrated. The simplicity of the foregoing prior art method is its primary advantage.
However, one disadvantage of hydrophobic polymers such as those prepared from EVA and silicon, is that those polymers are not permeable to hydrophilic macromolecules, thus, only that portion of the drug which communicates with the surface of the implant, either directly or via contact with other drug particles, can be released. Thus, the drug present nearer the interior of the implant and completely surrounded by the polymer matrix is unable to ever be released and never exerts its therapeutic effect. Addition of polar additives increases penetration of water in these hydrophobic materials and helps to dissolve the protein, but they are not quite inert to the protein, as are the polar organic solvents used for casting from PHEMA and PVA. Another disadvantage associated with these types of devices is the need for surgical insertion and eventually surgical removal of the implant. This is necessary since the devices are composed of materials which are nondegradable.
Microspheres containing proteins have been prepared from polyacrylamide, acryloylated dextran and acryloylated starch. Polyacrylamide beads can meet different purposes in vitro, but their nondegradability prevents their use in humans. Reported data on polysaccharide particles show that an efficient crosslinking has been achieved only at a high degree of derivatization (D.D. about 0.1 to 0.3). A high D.D. is disadvantageous as it decreases the biocompatibility of the polymer. A high D.D. also leads preferentially to the intramolecular reaction of polymerizable groups instead of the intermolecular reaction between different polymer chains, which results in a heterogenous microporous structure. The use of the crosslinking agent bisacrylamide is not considered desirable, since it generally results in the formation of crosslinked hydrocarbon gels, which neither dissolve nor degrade even after degradation of the polysaccharide component.
The recent advances in the incorporation of drugs into microparticulate carriers has attracted a great deal of attention because it combines features of matrix-controlled release with those of injectable forms. In addition to controlled release, these microspherical carriers offer "first stage" physical targeting, that is, physical localization of the drug carrier in the proximity of the target tissue and cells. Localized administration of the therapeutic agent allows for not only more efficient drug therapy but also minimizes the opportunity for adverse systemic effects.
In preparing microspheres in the size range of 1 .mu.m to 20 .mu.m, homogenous systems are more suitable than heterogenous systems for casting implants. In the homogenous system, proteins are co-dissolved in the same solvent as the material of the matrix. Furthermore, in order to preserve the biological activity of the macromolecules, aqueous systems are generally preferred. In this regard, biodegradable hydrophilic polymers can be chosen as matrix material provided that they can be solidified or crosslinked by a mechanism which does not involve a chemical modification and/or denaturation of the incorporated macromolecule such as a proteinaceous agent.
It is known that crosslinked hydrophilic gels can be obtained utilizing techniques of free-radical polymerization. To some extent, the problems identified above are similar to those found in the preparation of graft biodegradable polymers, that is, polymers containing vinylic groups with the encapsulation of biologically active materials therein.
Examples of prior art patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,131,576, 3,687,878, 3,630,955 and 3,950,282. These patents disclose methods for the preparation of graft copolymers of polysaccharides and vinylic monomers. These patents were directed to improving the physical properties of the polysaccharides within each composition. Process conditions used to achieve these improvements included the use of elevated temperatures, highly reactive monomers or organic solvents. However, each of the foregoing parameters are harmful to biologically active macromolecules and thus are unsuitable in the practice of the present invention.
The prior art also discloses procedures for encapsulation of a core material in a polymer capsule. U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,813 discloses the the production of a capsule wall by the gelation of polysaccharide gums, such as alkali-metal alginates, with bivalent metal cations. U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,857 discloses the gelation of xanthates of polyhydroxy polymers by the addition of strong acids and coupling agents. U.S. Pat. No. 3,567,650 achieves a similar result by lessening the solubility of certain polymeric materials using increasing temperature.
Other mechanisms are based on the principle of complex coacervation using at least two colloids of opposite electrical charge and oxidation products of polysaccharides as crosslinking agents as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,016,098. Yet another procedure employs interfacial crosslinking of the wall-forming polymer by reactive bifunctional crosslinking agents dissolved in oil droplets which are encapsulated as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,165. Other examples of the prior art which offer similar teachings include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,078,051, 4,080,439, 4,025,455 and 4,273,672. Materials which are encapsulated according to the prior art are mostly water insoluble solids or oil droplets and compounds dissolved therein, e.g., dyes, pigments or biologically active low-molecular-weight compounds like herbicides.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,883 teaches a method for encapsulation of core materials such as living tissues or individual cells in a semipermeable membrane. The membrane is permeable for small molecules but not permeable to large molecules. This patent also utilizes the gelation of certain water-soluble gums by the action of multivalent cations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,140 discloses the procedure for binding of biologically active proteins onto an insoluble carrier by reacting the proteins in an aqueous phase with a carrier comprising an activated polysaccharide having a hydrophilic graft copolymer incorporated therein. That patent is directed to the preparation of insoluble carriers containing covalently bound proteins with application in biochemical reactors.
Yet another example of the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,833, teaches a procedure for preparation of copolymerizates of vinylic group containing dextran and divinyl compounds, optionally also monovinyl compounds, in the form of three-dimensional gel networks. The resulting crosslinked dextran-vinylic gels can be used for separation purposes.
In spite of the numerous teachings of the prior art, the prior art does not offer a method for obtaining encapsulated or entrapped biologically active macromolecules such as proteinaceous agents in spherical microparticles of controlled size ranges. Nor does the prior art suggest a procedure for allowing microspheres to have the potential to control the rate by which the biologically active macromolecule is released or for modulating the rate by which the matrix is degraded in vivo.